Octane sets lending peak with £92m in Q1

The firm said the figure was a 121 per cent increase on the final three months of 2020.

It reported that completions were balanced evenly across the lender’s categories: refurbishment, bridging and developer exit loans, and medium-term buy-to-let products.

And Octane added that application numbers also increased by 126 per cent on the October to December period, with the stamp duty holiday and a resurgence in buy-to-let being the key drivers of this activity.

Earlier this month the lender opened availability for its buy-to-let products to the whole broker market.

Jonathan Samuels (pictured), CEO of Octane Capital, said: “The first three months of the year have been the most frantic we’ve ever experienced.

“The property market is absolutely booming due to the stamp duty holiday and our buy-to-let product is proving a particular hit with brokers and their landlord clients.”

He added that the lender had become a life cycle lender for brokers, providing bridges, then funding the refurbishments then moving borrowers onto buy-to-let loans.